A Grand Design
by DarkJackel
Summary: A father's stupidity, a child's ability, and the macinations of a long dead Sith result in Earth taking a place in the Grand Design.
1. Default Chapter

A Grand Design  
  
A Ranma/Star Wars/Sailor Moon fic by. DarkJackel  
  
************************************************* Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Ranma ½, or Sailor Moon. Other people do. *************************************************  
  
Chapter 00: Trip on Thru to the Dark Side.  
  
Opening theme: Down with the Sickness by Disturbed.  
  
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(6 years after the death of the Emperor at New Alderaan)  
  
Hidden within the outer rim of the Deep Galactic Core a, formerly secret, Imperial space station was under attack by the forces of the New Republic. Inside Stormtroopers fought tooth and nail to drive back the Rebel invaders while the surviving members of the Emperor's Inner Circle tried to escape. Amidst the bedlam was one figure clothed in black robes and armor running for the labs. He was the last of the Imperial Sovereign Protectors, the ultimate elite of the Stormtroopers, and mastermind of the scheme that just now seemed to fall apart. When the Emperor died six years ago he, like the rest of the Protectors, had intended to end his own life and rejoin his master but before he had fallen upon his force pike he had received a vision from the Dark Side. It commanded him to create a new ruler to take the place of the fallen Emperor in penance for falling to protect his master, only then would he be able to die with honor. So he had gathered the crew of this station and with the backing of the handful of Dark Side Adepts from the Inner Circle that remained went about creating the new Emperor. In order to make sure the new Emperor would be able to restore the Empire to glory it was decided to forge him from the genetic material of the greatest conquerors, rulers, warriors, and darksiders in history. He had personally gone to the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban and fought the guardian spirits to obtain genetic material from the greatest of the Dark Lords of the Sith such as Marka Ragnos, the Dark Lord who ruled the Sith Empire with an iron fist thru its 100 year golden age, and the first Dark Lord who had originally conquered the Sith people. Others such as Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Jango Fett, the Emperor, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Freedon Nadd were all included to add their distinct strengths to this new, perfect, being. After years of work they had created their new lord, though now just an infant. As part of the plan the Inner Circle would rule in his name while the child-Emperor was trained in the power of the Dark Side for when he would be able to take the throne and restore order to the galaxy.  
  
Now, however, he needed to escape with the new Emperor and make sure that the Rebels do not get their hands on him. Once he reached the lab the Protector flowed thru the throngs of panicked scientists to where the new Emperor lay, sleeping thru the chaos like he already knew his servants were working to ensure his safety. Taking the child in his arms the Protector sped to a special escape ship he had prepared, one that contained all the secrets of the Empire and all the new Emperor would need to conquer the galaxy again. Increasing his speed with the power of the Dark Side the Protector reached the hidden shuttle bay and placed his master in a special containment unit for the voyage. Taking his seat the Protector went thru the launch sequence for the Lamda-class shuttle that would take them to safety. Outside was a war as TIE fighters engaged the Rebel X-wings and their Corillian Corvette traded fire with the stations defensive turbolasers. Letting the Dark Side control his actions the Protector unerringly flew threw the hail of gunfire until one stray shot hit the ship, causing it to spin wildly out of control. Just as it looked like the end had come something akin to a miracle occurred, a wormhole opened in the path of the shuttle, swallowing it and its cargo.  
  
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Far from the conflicts of the greater galaxy in the depths of space, near the moon to be specific, a wormhole opened and the shuttle carrying the Protector and his charge shot out towards the Earth. The shuttle, damaged from the trip and the battle, continued to descend wildly towards the planet's surface. Inside the Protector prepared to shield his charge from the impact of the crash.  
  
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(Japan)  
  
As she walked home from the doctor Nodoka Saotome mourned her inability to have a child, after several unsuccessful attempts with her husband, Genma, she had some tests done and found that her husband was sterile. Now she would have to wait for his return from a training trip with his friend Soun to deliver the bad news. It was then that she noticed a strange light descending from the heavens. It landed in the woods with a loud explosion and, out of curiosity; Nodoka went to see what happened. When she arrived the scene was that out of a science fiction movie, the twisted wreck of a craft that looked something like a plane but different in several areas. First was the fact that the dorsal wing was as long as the other two wings (both of which seemed to be broken), also that the way into seemed to be right beneath the cockpit. It was then that Nodoka heard a crying from inside the strange craft. Deciding that no further harm could be done she ventured in from one of the openings in the damaged hull.  
  
"Excuse me I'm coming in." Nodoka said as she entered, after all it simply would not do to start a war with aliens because of ill manners. The inside of the vessel looked suspiciously like the cabin of a passenger airliner. Noticing the distinct lack of demonic hellspawn from beyond the stars bent on reducing her to a cherry cobbler-like state the Saotome matriarch ventured towards a door towards the front of the craft that had been almost completely knocked off its track behind which the crying sound was coming. Sliding thru a crack leading threw to the cockpit she was surprised at what she saw. An infant, in a pod, covered by the corpse of a figure in black robes and armor who had been shielding the child from the brunt of the crash. This sight reminded Nodoka of her own distinct problems.  
  
'Well he does look kind of Japanese.' She thought. Normally Nodoka wouldn't even be entertaining these kinds of thoughts but time spent with her husband, Genma, plus her own mothering instinct suddenly made justifying theft so much easier. 'Plus it's not like anyone would miss him.' and so decision made Nodoka Saotome made off with the infant in a very Genma-esque fashion.  
  
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(About six years later)  
  
Deep within the jungles of China an ancient temple stood, for almost four thousand years this temple had stood here in secret, undisturbed and unnoticed. However unlike other undiscovered temples this one was different. This was not only because of its architecture, which resembled something more out of Egypt than anything from Asia, but also that this ancient temple had a dark secret, a secret which would soon be unleashed upon the world.  
  
Standing in front of the ancient structure were two people, the first was an older man, with a build that was part muscle from training and part fat from his sloth, dressed in an off-white gi with glasses and a handkerchief over his bald head. The second was younger, about six, also male and wearing a gi, with blue eyes and black hair pulled into a ponytail in the back. They were Genma Saotome and his son Ranma.  
  
"Poppa, are you sure we should be here?" young Ranma asked of his father, something about this place was putting him ill at ease. It was not the surroundings, though they would certainly be enough to scare many a brave soul away. The trees were black, with twisted, leafless, limbs giving them the look of monsters waiting to be released from their restraints to rip those before them asunder, the sky was overcast giving the whole area a feel of perpetual gloom, and there was no sound; for no beast would come within a mile of this unholy place. However what was bothering Ranma was something else, a feeling like something was wrong.  
  
"Of course I'm sure boy. Now go in there and perform the ritual so we can leave." Genma said handing the boy a tome that he had stolen back in Japan along with a copy of the Neko-Ken. Originally he had planned to train the boy in the fearsome Neko-Ken first but once he had read over the tome Genma knew this was the place to go to. After all according to the tome all he had to do was send the boy in and have him do a little ritual to give the boy ultimate power. Never mind that the ritual itself was in a language Genma had never seen before or that even the slightest failure in the performance would kill the person doing the ritual. As he watched his son enter the temple Genma leaned against a tree, with luck he would be done soon and he could go back to his wife. After all he had made a few promises while he was away and it would be wisest to have a few spare sons to pay them off, ah the suffering one must undertake in the name of honor.  
  
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As he walked deeper into the ancient temple Ranma began to look thru the ritual that his poppa had told him to perform unsure of how it would help him be a better martial artist. True the part about the ritual being set to the rhythm of his heartbeat made some sense but not much. Soon he reached the place where the ritual was to take place, a huge chamber made of marble with strange runes etched in gold decorated with imposing statues of human-like beings Ranma didn't quiet know the name of seemed to glare down upon him as he approached the sarcophagus in the center and began the ancient rite.  
  
"Taka zeech ma toka duuwaj." The young martial artist intoned in a tongue that had never before been spoken on this planet and immediately began counting his heartbeats, somewhat suppressed that he could read the strange symbols in the tome.  
  
"Taka zeech ma toka duuwaj." He again intoned after six heartbeats. A malevolent presence began to encroach upon his senses but the young Ranma refused to allow it to break his concentration. Outside a violent storm started up, forcing Genma into the entrance of the discrepant tomb to escape the already biting wind and pounding rain.  
  
"Neel duuyyyzak inyyk baratuu." Ranma said after eight heartbeats. Outside the storm increased in ferocity and savagery, lightning gouging deep trenches into the very earth and starting fires as the hurricane force wind ripped trees from the ground and hurled them around like leaves. Had he been able to see into the sarcophagus Ranma would have noticed a dark energy surrounding the mummified corpse within.  
  
"NATOO ZIM BARATUU!!" the young martial artist shouted after four heartbeats, ending the incantation and feeling physically and mentally drained. This was why he did not run when a ghost-like figure rose from the sarcophagus, it was human-looking and dressed in robes and armor but the figure was entirely black, like he was made from crude oil.  
  
"So you are the one to summon my spirit from the chaos after these many long millennia." The figure said in a deep reverberating voice as he floated towards the now frightened Saotome.  
  
"Who, who are you?"  
  
"I am Nall Belaron, your new master." The specter said. "But first I will need to do something to make sure that your fat and stupid father cannot interfere."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, after all he didn't want the blood of his own father on his hands.  
  
A cruel smirk crossed upon Nall's features as he sensed the fear within the boy. "Oh nothing much, I will merely make him believe that he trained you in another technique. Of course that means you will have to deal with the consequences of his foolish technique."  
  
As the shade closed in on the boy he continued. "Boy you cannot comprehend the glorious things to come, for now you have earned a place in the Grand Design of the Sith." And then the shade was upon the screaming child.  
  
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The ancient shade of Nall Belaron sneered malevolently as he viewed his handy work. He had erased the memories of his initiates' father and replaced them with those of training his son in something called Neko-Ken. To further complete the deception he implanted the technique and its accompanying madness using what was in the old man's mind as a template. Now to check on his artifacts, scrolls and tomes containing the ways and techniques of the Sith. In life he had been a Jedi Knight who had been turned and trained in the Sith arts by the Dark Lord Exar Kun and had become a powerful Sith sorcerer. He, like the other Sith had then been sent to slay their Jedi Masters to make way for the rebirth of the Sith Empire. Unfortunately he had failed to slay his former master but had managed to find a trove of lost Sith knowledge. After the betrayal of Exar Kun by the Sith Lord Ulic Qel-Droma the other Sith sorcerers and warriors fought each other for the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. However before a new Dark Lord could emerge the combined forces of the Jedi and Galactic Republic had all but annihilated them and their Mandalorian warriors. In the end he had been forced to flee using an experimental artifact that would allow a warship to teleport. However the item had not been perfected. It had sent him to a world a thousand lightyears away and had greatly shortened his own life. By the time he had found a habitable world he did not have the time to conquer it and forge an empire. However the chains of the grave were nothing compared to the power of the Dark Side, and that gave him all the time he would ever need. He had ordered the construction of his tomb to house the husk of his former self until someone could call him back from the chaos. To protect his treasures Nall had them placed in other temples built across the world. These also served another purpose, as focuses of Dark Side power with which he could teleport to with a thought. The shade then checked upon his storehouses of knowledge, some in the original temples, and some in museums. Once done checking upon his wealth the shade reached out with his senses, searching for any other Dark Side treasures that he could use. Nall was surprised when he sensed the presence of a site overwhelmingly infused with the power of the Dark Side and with a thought teleported there.  
  
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(Gates of Time)  
  
At the Gates of Time Sailor Pluto stood at her vigil as she had for nearly a thousand years. In only ten more years and the other Senshi would reawaken and she could begin on the path to resurrecting their kingdom. Behind the guardian of the Time Gates a pitch black shadow began to form and slowly began to rise, forming the shape of a man, Nall Belaron.  
  
"How interesting." The Sith sorcerer purred as he took his first look at the site of the Dark Side energy. Almost as soon as the words left his lips Sailor Pluto swung her staff at his head in a blow that would incapacitate, if not kill, any humanoid. However the shade merely flowed around the blow as the Guardian of the Gates of Time turned to see the invader. Nall then pointed his arm at her and unleashed a wave of telekinetic force, slamming Pluto into the Gates and causing her to drop her staff. 'A pity that I do not currently have a body, I would so like to feel my lightsaber in my hands right now.' the shade thought as Pluto began to rise.  
  
"Be gone fiend, DEAD SCREAM!" the Senshi of Pluto yelled as she fired her attack at the black figure before her, more than slightly disturbed that this thing had gotten to the Time Gates at all much less without her notice. However instead of standing there and dying like a good intruder the pitch-black shadow dodged her attack and looked at her with amusement, as if this was fun for him.  
  
After dodging an energy attack that his enemy had fired from her staff Nall decided that he could find a use for her, but first he had to find out what she was guarding an why a human with no capacity to use the Force would be able to unleash energy blasts. Raising his hand in the air he lifted the Senshi of Time off her feet, completely retraining her movement with his powers. "Now why don't we see what this is child." He said as he flowed towards the restrained Guardian. As he reached out towards her head Sailor Pluto struggled against the invisible bonds that held her. At the instant that his spectral hand grasped her forehead Pluto felt an unspeakable pain, as if vultures were ripping her brain apart as Nall sifted thru the mind of the restrained Senshi, searching for information that could prove useful to his plans. Finally, having drained all the useful knowledge that he could from his captive he began to see ways to integrate what he now knows into his plans. "Yes this will serve me well." Nall said as he released his hold on the Senshi of Time, dropping her unceremoniously to the ground.  
  
Groaning Sailor Pluto shook her head to attempt to clear her head, it felt like that vile demon had ripped open her head and taken chunks out of her brain. On top of giving her the worst headache she'd had in centuries she memory was messed up, making it hard for her to think straight. While she didn't show it outwardly Setsuna was very disturbed by the ease with which her foe had slipped thru her mental shielding. As the Guardian of the Gates of Time Setsuna was afforded mental shielding second only to the Queen and Princess' shielding so this shouldn't have been possible. After having gotten herself back together enough to fight Setsuna picked up her Time Staff and launched into a series of strikes that would have felled all but the best of foes while the spirit seemed to not be paying attention.  
  
While Nall Belaron was thinking up ways that he could use this tool to further his schemes he felt a flash of aggression from the felled Senshi. As he flowed around her strikes as only a Force-user can he mused 'For such ridiculous uniforms she has persistence, perhaps now I could use it. With her as my slave it would be easier to use my new toy.' With that the Sith sorcerer flowed back to get some space and focused. Nall had always excelled at mind tricks but when he became a Sith he took that to the next level, where a lightsider merely bent the mind a darksider broke it, allowing them to twist even strong minds to their will if they wished. The problem with many of the mind altering techniques is that it takes a lot of time to completely alter a mind and if they figured out what was going on all would be for naught. Hence Nall set about to remedy this problem and had developed a technique to quickly rewrite a person's mind but he had never had a chance to test it.  
  
Setsuna was about to close in and, hopefully, put an end to this threat to the future when she felt a presence enter her mind once again. However this time she was not going to let him have his way with her. Unfortunately he did not stop with just changing things or inserting false memories, as is standard, instead the prescience was erasing her own presence; he was wiping her out of her own mind. Franticly she began reconfiguring her mental shielding in a desperate attempt to save some piece of herself. Just as Nall was about to completely annihilate her personality Setsuna was able to arrange her shields to handle the power he was using and stop him. However the Nall Belaron had not waited four thousand years to be stopped by an inferior being who couldn't even use the Force, he was a Sith, all existence must serve him or die. "You dare to challenge me worm, I AM NALL BELARON AND I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY DESTENY!!" he bellowed as he focused all of his hatred, his malice, and his will to dominate into his assault. The Dark Side became his armor and club as he mercilessly battered against her shields. Suddenly, it was over, Setsuna fell to the ground and Nall to his knees.  
  
After several minutes the Sith sorcerer rose again, a triumphant sneer upon his face. It had been quick, dirty, and almost killed him but he was victorious. Turning to his fallen foe he said "Rise slave and kneel before your master." Setsuna immediately complied, her features betraying a fanatical devotion to her new lord. When Nall had been insider of her head he had erased her original thought patterns and personality and replaced them with ones similar but that had the correct attitude. Now she was completely devoted to the resurrection of the Sith Empire and the ascension of her master to the position of Dark Lord of the Sith, a living god and undisputed warlord of the Sith.  
  
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(4 years later)  
  
Ranma and Genma were sparring in the woods of Japan when suddenly Genma decided that this was enough for the day and that he needed a beer or twenty. "That's enough boy, practice what you've learned today."  
  
Ranma stopped with a small smirk as his blotted, bald father meandered off to get a wasted, over the past two years he had seen things of this nature and it always meant the same thing, it was time for the real training. As soon as the old man was out of earshot a dark mass began rising from the ground as Ranma knelt before it.  
  
"Rise my apprentice." the Sith spirit said. "It is time to continue your training."  
  
"Yes master." Ranma said, rising. Over the years Nall Belaron had been teaching him the powers of the Dark Side and inducting him into the ways and culture of the ancient Sith. Over the years Ranma had become a cunning and ambitious person whose hunger for power knew no limits hidden beneath the façade of a clueless jock.  
  
"A Sith must not only master the power of the Dark Side but the ways of war. As a result of their heritage of mystic-swordsmen they used alchemetic metallurgy to create this." Nall Belaron said, and from his dark form a sword emerged. The sword had a straight, double-edged, blade with a wicked edge. "This is a Sith sword that I acquired in my search for Sith secrets. Now it shall be yours."  
  
"Thank you master." Ranma said, taking the sword. For the rest of the night Ranma was trained in the use of his new weapon.  
  
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Three days after Ranma began training in the use of the Sith sword he had almost mastered the weapon. In all respects it was a fantastic expression of the Dark Side, able to block blasters, bullets, or even lightsabers with no problem. Additionally he could effortlessly charge the blade with the power of the Dark Side to give it an unnaturally sharp edge. However like all good things Genma ruined it, this time by returning from his bender. Ranma looked at the hung-over old fool with distain; the fool was a disgrace to humanity and a waste of resources. The fact that he had to follow this thing around galled him. However all things change and someday Genma would no longer be necessary, then Ranma would enjoy introducing him to the power of the Dark Side.  
  
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Closing Theme: Ending song from Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers.  
  
Next Chapter: Ranma goes on missions for his master while maintaining the façade he has set up for the Tendo's. Also Ranma's Sith warriors will be introduced and he makes contact with other students of his master as he organizes his own rise to power. Next on A Grand Design Chapter 1: Black Sun Rising.  
  
Definition: Grand Design, the: A Sith prophecy originating during the fall of the Sith Empire foretelling the inevitable and absolute victory of the Sith over the Jedi and Galactic Republic as well as the resurrection of their empire.  
  
Author's Notes: First I want to get this off my chest, Sith and Dark Jedi are NOT the same thing!!!! Just like not all lightsiders are Jedi not all darksiders are Sith, in fact most darksiders are self-taught.  
  
Ranma is being trained in the ways of the ancient Sith. Hence he will not have a Darth name since at the time it was not common for Sith to change their names. Also Sith of the time did not dress in all black but in flamboyant and colorful outfits, each different from his peers. In fact most darksiders actively try to look different from other darksiders. This stems from the narcissistic leanings of the Dark Side. The emphasis is on the individual.  
  
Another thing is that since Sith have been spread across the world in various temples so some people have learned to use the Force, some of them are not darksiders. However magic has been more prevalent than Force-use in this neck of the woods so all of these groups are flying by the seat of their pants, most don't even understand what they are using. Of course to face an old-school Sith like Ranma I will be putting together a group of old-school Jedi, straight from the time of the Sith War.  
  
Once Ranma gets his hands of the tech boon from the ship that carried him to Earth he will begin to implement it into weapons that his forces will use in his plan to conquer the galaxy. To that effect he will need wealth with which to launch research projects to implement his advanced technology into new and improved weapons of war. Also Sith Spawn will be created to support the troops and/or enhance troops. Any ideas on sources of inspiration are welcome. Right now I'm thinking giant robots like in Full Metal Panic, Zerg, and something like Spawn's suit.  
  
Also he needs an army to conquer with. I'm thinking either clones or the descendants of Nall Belaron's Mandalorian warriors.  
  
Suggestions, comments, and reviews always welcomed. I can be reached at darkjackel@hotmail.com  
  
Have a nice day. -_-Me-_- 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, sorry it is taking me so long but I am going to try a rewrite of 'A Grand Design' but I could use some help. I need help in selecting an era of Star Wars to use. I'm just having a lot of trouble choosing or should I put it further in the future? Also if I do place this fic during or after New Jedi Order I will need a brief synopsis of how that turned out, I apologize for having to ask this but I haven't been able to catch up on my reading.

What I need in the era are the following:

Availability of the Sith,

Jedi in sufficient number to justify a team of four to six knights (possibly with an Antarian Ranger and/or Wookiee martial artist for backup) forming,

And a Separatist-style droid army.

Thanks for all your support; I hope that my muse will stay with me to see this through because I am having some incredible ideas.

BTW: How in the Nine Hells do I keep different fonts and my section dividers no now?

DarkJackel


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